Rays of sunlight

[twoaussies]

I just took this foggy photo - havent changed anything. Can I put rays of sunshine through the trees? Thought that might look nice.
Jean
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1K7RKyB27aM61sfbuPHLupHzJoKYl_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1K7RKyB27aM61sfbuPHLupHzJoKYl)

[Chuck S.]

Jean, I remember a video on this; I'm going to look for it in the video archives.

[twoaussies]

Thanks Chuck, didnt think to look in the Videos. Do you think it was the Rays of Light, May 2006? I am on slow dial up and a video can take up to an hour and a half to download - so want to pick the right video. Jean

[Wendy]

Hi Jean ...

No its not that one ...

Wendy

[Daviskw]

Hi Jean

Below is a quick go at some beams.

I duplicated the background and applied a threshold adjustment… Adjust until the sky is white and the foreground black. The white areas will make the beams.

To the threshold layer I applied a radial blur… I set the blur option to Zoom… then moved the focus point to the upper center and amount to 100… then OK.

I changed this layers blend mode to screen… this makes many beams in the upper trees.

I then made selections for three big beams… feathered these selections 4 pixels and filled with white. I changed the layers blend modes to soft light and adjusted opacity. If you want add a mask to bring back some tree trunks or if you have the full version of Photoshop use the black blend if control on the bottom layer to hide part of the beams. Hold the alt or option key and split the adjustment right at the start. The idea here is to push the beams back in the woods behind some foreground.

Hope this helps
Butch

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1UyvGmKnjW2alEanxRLzUoUanQCy1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1UyvGmKnjW2alEanxRLzUoUanQCy1)

[twoaussies]

Butch, I really like that. Looking forward to trying it. Many thanks, especially for doing it on my photo. I may get back with questions. Jean

[John L Gray]

Butch,

That is very nice. Thanks for so much for sharing your technique.

John

[nkeevers]

Butch, thanks for sharing. That looks beautiful! Jean, can't wait to see yours! I copied your technique Butch and I'll have to try it on a picture I have...see what happens.

[gaseavey]

There is a killer tips podcast called lighting effects may 2, 07 that creates rays of light thru trees.

[Wendy]

Gary ...

Thank goodness you found that I ahev been wading through the tutorials but forgot the podcasts :)

Wendy

[gaseavey]

Wendy

There are a lot I guess I was just lucky.

[Chuck S.]

There is a killer tips podcast called lighting effects may 2, 07 that creates rays of light thru trees.

That's the one! Sorry I misdirected the search....:o

[deedeeO]

Hi Jean

Below is a quick go at some beams.

I duplicated the background and applied a threshold adjustment… Adjust until the sky is white and the foreground black. The white areas will make the beams.

To the threshold layer I applied a radial blur… I set the blur option to Zoom… then moved the focus point to the upper center and amount to 100… then OK.

I changed this layers blend mode to screen… this makes many beams in the upper trees.

I then made selections for three big beams… feathered these selections 4 pixels and filled with white. I changed the layers blend modes to soft light and adjusted opacity. If you want add a mask to bring back some tree trunks or if you have the full version of Photoshop use the black blend if control on the bottom layer to hide part of the beams. Hold the alt or option key and split the adjustment right at the start. The idea here is to push the beams back in the woods behind some foreground.

Hope this helps
Butch

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1UyvGmKnjW2alEanxRLzUoUanQCy1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1UyvGmKnjW2alEanxRLzUoUanQCy1)

I love this effect. I have to try it especially on my fantasy photos. Nice effect for this photo especially....

[twoaussies]

This is such a great forum. I am usually hestitant about showing my ignorance, but when others are pleased with the information, then I dont feel bad.
I found that I have Lighting Effects downloaded from when I had high speed (love that in Florida), so guess there will be no tv for me tonight. Thanks all for looking Jean

[Litespeed]

Here is one I found a long time ago in Advanced --
Creating Rays of sunlight


1.) Opened a levels adjustment layer above the background… slide the center slider to the left to brighten the picture. This difference in brightness will make the beams… and a gradient in the mask will delineate them.

2.) Clicked on the levels mask

3.) Clicked on The gradient button then click the linear button then… Edit… then I selected the transparent stripes gradient. You can change the stops as necessary to make the rays uneven if you like. Pull out the white stops some if you want a lot of transparency in the edges

4.) Make sure the foreground was set to black and background to white

5.) Make sure the mask is active the pull a gradient across the picture from left to right.

6.) Then press Ctrl I to invert the mask and bring back the picture. This hides all of the brightness adjustment except where the stripes are on the mask.

7.) Now select the move tool and press Image>transform>Distort and grab corners and warp the gradient as you like. I moved the top handles close together and in the right upper corner… then I expanded the bottom to make the fan as I wanted.

8.) Finally I pressed Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and adjusted as needed.

[Ellen]

Here's another way,
http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=492

[twoaussies]

I think I did it, using Litespeed's directions. I can see lots of use for this one. The graphics.com is, I believe, for CS.
And Butch, got lost on the radial blur, couldnt find three big beams. Jean
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1gNLFAo14HSW427roQ8XM0d1vOzfR_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1gNLFAo14HSW427roQ8XM0d1vOzfR)

[Ellen]

That looks nice Jean. The graphics.com one works just fine in pse3, the filters are the same. I don't know about in later versions, but it's an easy technique. I think Butch's way was the best looking though. There sure are a lot of ways to do the same thing aren't there?:)

[VegasGeorge]

There is a killer tips podcast called lighting effects may 2, 07 that creates rays of light thru trees.

Hi everyone! I'm new here, and need some help finding my way around.

Where (how) do I find the "lighting effects" podcast?

Thanks! :)

[douglas m scott]

George,

Use this web address:
http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/subscriber/podcast.php?action=archive


Scroll down to May 02 2007 Lighting Effects...

doug

[VegasGeorge]

Douglas,

Thank you!

George